Obama Staff Chief: President Wants $4T Debt Deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House chief of staff William Daley says President Barack Obama isn't walking away from a $4 trillion debt-reduction plan that Republicans and even some Democrats don't like.

Daley says Obama will press congressional leaders at a crucial meeting Sunday evening to accept that deal, even with the tax and entitlement program changes it includes, rather than shorter-term proposals that cause less political heartburn.

Daley tells ABC's "This Week" that Obama wants lawmakers to "step up and be leaders."

House Speaker John Boehner said late Saturday that House Republicans wouldn't accept tax increases in Obama's plan. Officials have been negotiating for weeks to allow the nation's borrowing capacity to rise before an Aug. 2 deadline.